Finished Bachelor’s Puzzle
This is my second attempt at this block. In the previous version the finished block was too small – I forgot about seam allowances when I digitised the block!
Two blocks down ten to go.
Category Archives: Digitizing
Blackwork Sampler
I have done a practice stitch out of my sampler.
Stitching away
Here is the finished version …
Finished Sampler
My sewing machine had a bit of a moment at one point – the bobbin and top threads got all tangled, there was a horrible noise and it ground to a halt, however, I am happy with the final results. I think more stabilisation and a nicer fabric and it will be fine.
Filed under Cross Stitch, Digitizing, Machine Embroidery
Digitising Blackwork
We have been away at Rottnest. Miss P went on camp and we decided to go too. It is such a relaxing place to go – no cars, nothing to do but read books and knit. I’ve made progress on Miss P’s cardigan (the yarn is Jo Sharp Desert Aran Cotton).
Sunrise over the salt lake
Sunset from our cottage
On the way to the look out
Salt Lake – a different one
Progress on Miss P’s Cardigan
Blackwork Sampler in Progress
I like grids, lines and crosses and I have always loved the look of Blackwork – I love how something so simple can be effective.
I have been inspired by this book to make my own blackwork sampler (using machine embroidery). I didn’t want to copy that one exactly, so I have used different fills. There are a number of blackwork resources on the web (simply search for blackwork embroidery). I found this one, which lead me to this page on 16th Century fill in patterns.
This is still quite experimental – I think it might end up being too small and the jump threads might test my sanity.
I’m using the Cross Stitch module of Embird, which is super easy to use and it comes with some built in blackwork fills (but I have decided to make my own).
I am wondering what kind of stabiliser I need? There are a lot of stitches and I suspect I need a sturdy stabiliser to stop it puckering.
Filed under Cross Stitch, Digitizing, Knitting, Machine Embroidery
Another Quilt Block Finished
A Finished Bachelors Puzzle Block
I finished the block a few weeks ago, but it has taken me a while to photograph it (not sure why it really doesn’t take that long).
This block consists of 4 smaller sub-units and then each sub-unit consists of two smaller units – does that make sense?
I used my embroidery machine and the whole block took about an hour to complete – I am not sure if this foundation piecing by embroidery machine is such a good idea. Sure it is very accurate, but it is fiddly and time consuming and I can never work out how big to make each piece because you have to stitch and flip.
Next up the final version of Bears Paws – although I suspect there will be some procrastination in the way! After all I do have a sock to finish.
Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Machine Embroidery
And so it Begins …
Altar Steps Block
So I have finally started the sampler quilt. The above is an Altar Steps block, which consists of four smaller blocks (see here). There will be five of these blocks in the quilt.
I’ve discovered it is quicker to cut all of the fabric for one smaller block before beginning the block. If in doubt the piece of fabric is going to be too small!
The final quilt consists of five of each of my sampler blocks (there are 12) and an extra 3 blocks ( I haven’t decided on the extras I suspect it will be the easier to make blocks!), so that makes a total of 63 blocks (5 × 12 + 3). Only 62 blocks to go …
Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Machine Embroidery, Patchwork
Bear’s Paw Block Finished
Bear’s Paw Block Finished
I stitched this out yesterday and it worked the first time so rare!
This is the last block I wanted to digitise for my sampler quilt. Now it is simply a matter of getting on with it.
Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Machine Embroidery, Patchwork
Bear’s Paws Block Being Digitised as a Foundation Block
Today is the last day of school holidays. I like school holidays – not having to be anywhere by a particular time, much more relaxed mornings, but it is a bit more difficult to get any jobs done that require concentration.
I want to digitise one more block for my foundation block quilt. I’ve spent a bit of time considering different traditional blocks – Arkansas Star, Attic Windows, Birds in the Air, Fox and Geese, Jacob’s Ladder – and rejecting them as too hard or requiring too many stitch outs.
In the end I decided on Bear’s Paw, which requires two stitch outs.
Bear’s Paw Block
The above image is four bear’s paw blocks – with some extra bits in the middle.
My block is more like this …
Although it is all straight lines and you would think easy to digitise, I did need to think about how to split it and then what dimensions to use to get this block to be the same size as my other blocks – I knew that maths degree would come in handy some time!
I split into two sections …
Bear’s Paw Split
And then used Embird Studio to digitise each stitch out (I did this separately).
And then joined them using the merge feature in Embird Manager. Once I had the numbers sorted, it was all relatively easy. Now I just need to test it out!
Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Machine Embroidery, Patchwork
Digitised Bachelor’s Puzzle Quilt Block
SewWitty’s Bachelor’s Puzzle
This is 1/4 of my Bachelor’s Puzzle block. I did this in two pieces and then joined them, which means the finished block will have 8 pieces – I might be getting a bit carried away.
I have one more block to go to make 12, but I haven’t got one in mind yet.
Filed under Digitizing, Machine Embroidery, Patchwork
Pinwheel Quilt Block Digitised
SewWitty’s Pinwheel block
What it looks like when there is four of them.
This is my latest digitised block, a Pinwheel. I used paint to show you what it would like if there was four of them.
I need two more blocks to make 12 – I’m considering a Bachelor’s Puzzle, Water Wheel and New York Star – although I might think of another block before the end.
Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Machine Embroidery, Patchwork
Golden Wedding Ring Quilt Block Digitised
SewWitty’s Golden Wedding Ring Block
This is another block that is only 1/4 of the final block. Check out a whole one here. It came together quite easily – I’m starting to feel more confident using Embird. As you can see in the image, I had a bit of difficulty cutting my pieces big enough, but this is just a practice run to determine whether my digitised design is OK.
I think I now have eight blocks: Log Cabin, Pineapple, Flying Geese, Courthouse Steps, Snail Trail, Iowa Star, Golden Wedding Ring, Hour Glass. My plan was to make 12 blocks for my sampler quilt, so only four more to go. Although at some stage I changed my template, so I need to double check the earlier blocks.
Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Quilting